


Stumble Through to Heaven

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: Fineprint [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angel!Hermann Gottlieb, BAMF!HERMANN, Gen, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Prompt Fill, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 23:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9040403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: Hermann imagined meeting Newt (the name written in green along the left forearm) for millennia; had gone over each potential meeting carefully and as sweetly zhe dared—The reality left much to be desired. Through asking for help, a love of flower crowns and something of a holiday miracle, they find each other.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seaweedredandbrown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaweedredandbrown/gifts).



> I filled as much of your requests as I could manage without it turning into a 10k monster. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to expand on one of my universes and be gloriously indulgent as a result. Without further ado, I present—your fic.
> 
> A few things: 
> 
> Angels can have either two, four or six wings. They come in pairs of two and the more wings an angel has, the more power, so to speak, is under the hood. This means Hermann and Tendo are decently powered up and can do some pretty cool stuff. 
> 
> The Weis are born slightly later than in canon! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy~
> 
> A Note: Hermann's pronouns might be a bit hard to read! Zhe reads as ZEE and Zher reads as ZER.

* * *

**-November 7, 2016-**

Hermann watched the snow fall as zhe kept an eye on Tendo and his Name. 

The young man's soul was bright enough to drown out the human lights of the street corner. 

Tendo was lucky. He's the first of the three Named angels paired with humans to find his. Of course he was, his job as a Guardian would lead him to human souls so why not pair him with one? But Hermann—

Hermann was a Soldier, forbidden contact until a human asked for help from attacks physical or mental.

Zher had no use for the Name that curled in lazy swirls along zhe's left forearm in bright, sweet green. What kind of Name was Newt anyway? No human would be so awful as to actually give their child such a moniker on purpose. 

Zhe sighed and left Tendo to his wooing. 

At least one of them had succeeded.

* * *

The call came just as Hermann was settling in with a nice cup of black tea. 

"Someone help me." The voice was desperate, practically a whisper in terms of human vocal range. "I can't take much more of this. Please, please, _please_..." 

Hermann lunged, spun in place and appeared as the fierce Soldier zhe was, flaming sword in hand. 

The group of men paused, sensing Hermann. One-by-one they turned around and released the smaller figure hunched into a ball. 

Hermann didn't even think twice about using zhe's real voice when zhe spotted wide green eyes the same shade as the Name scorching zher's arm at the moment. 

"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK AN INNOCENT." Zhe thundered, wing sets crashing and flaring to great effect. "YOUR SOULS SPEAK OF SHAME AND FEAR AS YOU KNOW YOU ARE WRONG. YOUR MOTHERS THAT BORE YOU ARE CHAGRINED! THE FATHERS THAT KEPT YOU UNDER WING ARE HUMILIATED! BEGONE AND REPENT!" 

The group fled, three of them showing signs of having soiled themselves. 

Hermann touched the ground and tucked away the Grace that made zhe so fierce. Zher limped forward and leaned down to offer Newt a hand. The swat surprised zhe; normally humans wouldn't look zhe in the eye for fear of a smiting. 

"I could've handled it!" The shriek left Hermann intrigued. "You-You idiot! You moron, they could've turned on **you**!" 

"Your plea did not imply such," Hermann drew up to zhe's full height and frowned at the human who was bleeding in front of zhe. "Do you have access to aid?" 

"No one talks like that, dude. Seriously, what was that earlier? That awful boom?" Newt—and this was indeed zher's Name—snapped. 

Zher's human hadn't seen zhe in full battle form. At all. 

Hermann was flabbergasted. 

Zhe wanted to shake zhe's fist at Heaven but refrained. "May I escort you to the hospital so that you are not attacked again? Perhaps ask for help?" 

"... Whatever, dude."

* * *

Zhe was perplexed. 

The fateful meeting had gone horribly, utterly _wrong_.

Zher wove a crown from thickly-stemmed white and red roses, smoothing the cuts to heal them over with Grace. The leaves and thorns grew back on but Hermann didn't mind. 

Setting aside the third crown in half as many moments, zhe mulled the meeting over in zhe's mind. One wing flicked in irritation and Hermann grabbed it, grooming out the frustration that roiled up. The gleaming robin's egg blue and iridescent deep navy feathers tipped in black calmed zhe enough that zher could focus. 

"Hey, I could use some help with this stupid equation?" The request made Hermann pause. "Oh, who am I kidding? The wings were probably a figment of my imagin—Holy shit! You're real!" 

"You require help?" Hermann asked quietly, fluffing zhe's wings and folding them neatly into the liminal space zhe could sense. The flower crown on zhe's forehead slipped and zhe reached up to adjust it when Newt did it himself. Their skin didn't touch but Hermann's Grace fizzled in excitement. "Yes, I exist on many planes and would be considered 'real' by the word's definition." 

Newt scowled and Hermann wondered what zhe had said wrong this time. "Why do you have that on your head?" 

"The... flower crown?" Hermann asked to clarify. 

"Yeah." 

"I weave them. The practice is relaxing." Hermann answered easily, zher's hand reaching up to brush the petals of the monkshood and dwarf sunflower crown. "Would you like one?" 

"You don't have mater... Okay. I stand corrected." Newt blinked at the flowers in Hermann's lap and then smacked his forehead. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Dr. Newton Gieszler but you can call me Newt! Only dry nerds, my Mom and my boss call me Dr. I teach here at MIT, have for a while. You are?" 

"Hermann, Angel of The Lord." Hermann replied absently as zhe wove the pink field bindweed and the pink dahlias together in a circular formation. Yes, a good and rather subtle combination. 

"Dude. I was being serious." Newt gestured wildly from his place at the desk. 

"So was I," Zher responded as a stubborn bit of bindweed curled around zhe's fingers. "Ah, there. I'm not a dude. I don't conform to the gender binary." 

"... You're fucking with me, right? About the angel thing." 

"Your Mother is Monica Schwartz and your Father is Jacob Geiszler. You were born in Berlin, Germany admist much scandal; your parents had an affair and you while still married to other people. Ilia and your Father raised you because that was your Mother's wish. You currently hold six doctorates and teach Biology at MIT. You have been teaching for six years at this point. You are the second youngest student to be admitted in MIT history." Hermann sighed as zhe set aside the crown to look Newton in the eyes.

"You speak fluent German and Spanish but do not use it often. You also realize the irony of being named after a physics 'genius' and having degrees in Biology. Must I go on?" Zhe finished with a raised brow. 

"I-Okay. Some of that nobody else knows. Are you really...?" 

Hermann released zhe's European roller wings from the liminal space. "Yes." 

Newton's green eyes rolled up and back before he passed out on the chair amidst a pile of student papers. 

"Oh dear..."

* * *

When Newton roused, he immediately oriented on zhe's wings spread out on his bed. 

"This-This is mind-blowing?!" Newt fell out of the chair and reached for the wings. Hermann pulled them back, the double wing sets rising in a threat display. "Okay, okay, I got it. No touchy." 

"Wings are personal." 

"Angels have taboos?" Newt's incredulous tone had Hermann pointing to zherself. "Right, angels actually exist. Of course they have taboos and a culture. Of course. Fuck me." 

"I beg your pardon. You have a Name, do you not?" Hermann was miffed but zhe tried to rise above the jealousy that roared to the surface. Pride wasn't merely a human emotion, after all. 

"Oh right! That's a figure of speech. It's,uh, emphasis on how confused I am. You don't get out a lot, do you?" 

"No, I do not 'get out a lot.'" Zhe replied. "Humans use cursing for emphasis but not all do so." 

"Exactly! So, uh, what are you doing here with me?" Newton caught on to the fact that zhe was still there. 

"You asked for help." Hermann answered. 

"All I had to do was ask?" 

"The first time we met, you were in extreme distress," Zhe countered. "You were being hurt. It is my duty to help those in need of protection." 

"Wait... You were there yesterday... I yell—Oh my God, I yelled at an angel. Oh shit. Was that blasphemous? **Shit** , you're gonna _smite_ me..." 

Hermann chuckled at the scramble to backtrack. "He is wrathful but also forgiving. I think, under the circumstances, He would not mind." 

"He?" 

"Mmm, technically God is many things, including God. Any gender, anything humans can conceive... He's been all of it. Worry not." Zhe reassured. 

"What do you identify as?" Newt drawled out, eyes tracking the wing movements eagerly. 

"Gender neutral. They/them or zhe/zher are my preferences." Hermann responded as zhe stretched out all the way. "As you are not in any danger... I must go." 

"Wait!" Zhe paused, wings folded neatly along zhe's back. "How did you know about my Name?" 

"It shines like your soul." Zhe quipped. The blinding glow of Newton's soul combined with the flare of the matching Name created a conflict within in Hermann that zhe couldn't answer. 

Hermann stepped into the other plane, stunned when Newton murmured, "But why does it look like your eyes?" 

Zhe murmured in reply, "I am yours, Newton. If only you knew..." 

Newton didn't hear it and Hermann's Grace ached.

* * *

"Hey, uh, Hermann?" The question pulled Hermann from zhe's star-charts and tending to zhe's knee scar. "I need your help. It's really cold and—" 

"You called?" Zhe asked quietly, snapping a crown of spruce pine and holly into existence as zhe waited for Newt to turn around. Snow drifted down, settling on the detailed blue and golden embroidered gown Hermann wore and accenting the pine as though the universe was playing coy. 

"Oh. **Oh**. You're... Wow." Newton spluttered magnificently and his ear tips turned even redder than before. "Aren't you _cold_?"

Hermann cocked zhe's head to the side as zhe tried to figure out why Newt wouldn't look directly at zher. 

"Hmm? No. We don't feel it the same way. We must be invited down for that to be the case." Zhe admitted, chastising zherself for even letting that slip. 

"By who?" 

"My Name."

"Angels and humans get paired?!" The whisper-shout in the cool morning had Hermann smiling fondly at zhe's Name. "Do you know who it is?" 

"Yes." 

"What are you doing h—" Newt started to ask before he stepped into Hermann's space and peered up at zhe's face. "It _is_ you. I thought I was dreaming before. You come here because we're matched by fate or God or whatever." 

Hermann laughed softly and offered zhe's covered arm. "We are paired because we fit well, Newton. Someone to challenge you and someone to draw me out." 

"I... never thought about it that way. I just thought it made me even more of a freak—" 

Hermann growled lowly and zhe's wings hiked up in an aggressive stance. With fire and fury, zhe demanded, "Who dared?" 

"Whoa, whoa, it was a while ago. Chill. What is your, uh, duty?" Newt blurted, clearly seeking to calm zhe's wrath. 

"Technically, you could call it a job. I am a Soldier." Zhe took up the topic easily, shaking out the tension through zher's wings. The sets folded carefully as zhe settled down. "I am called by those who need protection. Humans ask less and less for divine help or intervention these days, however." 

"Huh. You wanna get a hot cocoa with me?" 

"Certainly. Though, perhaps, I should change my clothing. I do not want you ostracized again." Hermann suggested carefully. 

"Nah. I mean, I'm already a weirdo. Might as well own it." 

"As you wish."

* * *

Hot cocoa in hand and one fuzzy white faux fur overcoat later (as a concession to human views), Hermann and Newt took in the lights as they began to turn on throughout the city.

"... And another thing, the experts on this stuff _stumbled over it by accident_ a good two-thirds of the time. We're constantly disproving stuff that was fact not too long ago and it blows my mind sometimes... Hermann?" 

"I'm listening," Zhe murmured as zhe sipped at the cocoa. 

"Why don't you tell me about something? What do you like? I've been blabbering on for what seems like forever, dude." Newton inquired. "I mean, if you wanna." 

"I am rather fond of the stars... Did you know that what humans can perceive is altered by time and distance? I know what they look like. I was there when they were pulled into being and yet, the fondness persists. They are precise yet messy, full of intricate workings and mathematics that have yet to be discovered..." Hermann found zherself enthusing zhe's love of the celestial bodies that were neither angels nor Host. 

Zhe gestured and illustrated using Grace, the sparkling snap giving away how much the attention of zhe's Name meant to zher.

* * *

Hermann sighed as zhe laid on zher's belly, kicking zher feet and happily getting lost in the memory of the hour prior. Zhe's wings fanned the air and shook on occasion where Newt looked sweet or enthralled. 

"Hermann?" 

Zhe yelped at Tendo's voice, falling off the bed and glaring, glowing sky blue and rich indigo feathers in complete and utter disarray. 

"Tendo!" Hermann chided as zhe gently began resettling feathers. "Knock, please?" 

"Oops. Anyway, I figured I hadn't spent enough time with my best friend lately. Looks like you found your Name, though." Tendo grinned as he helped Hermann smooth the wing sets. 

"Yes, well, they asked for help." 

"Oh. They tugged on the Soldier. What was that like, being back to your old self?" 

"Invigorating," Hermann murmured as zhe mantled zher's wings. European roller brushed against violet-backed starling as they stood in the tiny kitchen, zhe trying to think of the right words to say. "My Name didn't even see me." 

"What?" Tendo questioned. "How do you not see _that_? Manifestations demand attention." 

"He was blind at the time... And injured." Hermann sheepishly added. 

"Huh?" 

"My Name wears those peculiar len—" 

"You mean glasses, Hermann. He didn't see you because he was looking for them and didn't look up to see you in your full glory." Tendo laughed as he nudged Hermann. "And what about your Voice? He miss that too?" 

"Apparently all he heard was an awful boom like thunder. The rest ran screaming but that is no surprise." Hermann harrumphed. 

"That is... interesting. I oughta try that with Yancy." 

"Ah, yes. How is your Name?" 

"That _is_ his name. Use it, hmm?" Tendo leaned on the counter and sighed happily. "He's amazing. I had my first ever itch to smite someone on his behalf." 

"Who?" As a Guardian, it's rare for Tendo to feel wrathful and even more so on behalf of others. 

"Yancy's Father. Man named Richard Becket; he's a miserable sack of..." Tendo's wings fluttered in agitation, the under-pins rattling as he grumbled. "Ooo, I'd do it too if Yancy ever changed his mind, let's just put it at that. Hey, you heard from Stacker lately?" 

"I haven't heard from Seraphim Stacker in some time," Zhe espoused as zhe thought over the last two weeks. 

"Me either. You think he found his?" 

"His Name?" Hermann questioned at Tendo's tone. "What with you finding Yancy first, it would not surprise me that He let our Names find us or for us to find them within a certain window of time." 

"Mm, true. Good luck with yours." 

"I wish you luck as well, my friend," Zhe murmured as Tendo zipped away to the Earthly plane.

* * *

Hermann didn't hear from Newton at all until—

"Hermann? A little help here? I slipped on some ice and my tailbone isn't thanking me." 

Hermann landed on the right plane of existence and then helped Newt up, the golden geometric bodice of zhe's gown glittering in the weak sunlight. The sheer fabric that extended from the knee downward fluttered and let the gold triangles on the bottom flare and glow. 

The juniper and Cape jasmine crown separated and duplicated when Hermann coaxed it, handing it off with a simple, "Here." 

"You are really into flower crowns. Do, uh, do they have meanings?" Newt asked as he accepted and placed it on his head a little lopsided. Hermann nudged it into sitting properly without touching the skin. 

"Yes. Juniper and Cape jasmine are protection and... Well, I am too happy or full of joy, respectfully." Zhe flushed at explaining the Cape jasmine flowers. 

"... I..." Newton appeared, quite honestly, to be out of his usual bluster and bravado. "Wh-What about the others?" 

"From the beginning?" Hermann asked kindly as zhe snapped a scarf into existence for Newton's exposed neck. Zhe carefully tied it in a fashion that was both warm and functional before taking Newton's gloved hand. 

"Yeah." 

"Hmm. Monkshood and dwarf sunflower mean chivalry and admiration; pink dahlia and field bindweed mean my gratitude exceeds your care and humility and finally, holly and spruce pine mean domestic happiness as well as hope in adversity. You know the meaning of today's." Hermann replied as zhe traced Newt's name in Enochian with zhe's thumb. 

"Oh. What happened to your knee?" Newt stooped to look at the nasty scar that started halfway up Hermann's thigh and splintered across Hermann's knee to scrape the end of the knee cartilage and brush the top of zhe's shin. 

"A Fallen. To be fair, the Fallen lost an eye and a wing," Zhe gave a feral grin, canines sharpening briefly in a flare of Grace. "He did not rise to battle me again." 

"Holy shit... I got a battle babe." Newt swore as he tugged Hermann onto a side path through the woods. "Why haven't we touched?" 

"The human population is dense here in Cambridge," Zhe countered, "and I do not feel like explaining to my Seraphim superiors why humans are blissed out and getting injured." 

"You have a boss?!" Newt squeaked in surprise. 

"I... suppose you could put that way. Human/human Name pairs cause a wave of universal bliss when they touch. It is but a fraction compared to what our union would be. Do you understand now?" Hermann murmured as zhe tried to explain on human terms and within human understanding, which was never really zhe's strong suit. 

"That... That would not be cool. Basically a bliss bomb in people-central?" Newton supplied with a shrug. 

"Bliss bomb... is a rather apt description. Yes, that is what would happen."

* * *

Hermann dressed carefully, the jacket and shirt settling on zhe's shoulders in a way that most gowns did not; the pants rubbed in unfamiliar spots. Zhe's scar ached today so zhe made an exception and snapped a ceramic cane sword into existence. The wing tipped shoes were last and Hermann wiggled zhe's toes in them. 

"Hermann?" 

"Yes, miene schatz?" Hermann murmured as zhe appeared in Newton's apartment. 

"Geez, give me a... Hermann? What are you wearing?" 

"You told me to dress appropriately for this meeting." Zhe murmured. "Does it not suit?" 

"You look like you're about to step out of a photo shoot. It's, uh, where pretty people get their pictures taken to show off clothing or other items." Newton muttered before explaining the human concept. 

"Ah." Zhe nibbled on zhe's bottom lip and flicked zher's outfit into blue plaid, jeans and sensible black boots with a black, double-breasted peacoat. 

Newton inhaled audibly and fanned himself. "Why are you so hot?" 

"Are you alright? Newton, you're flushing more than usual..." Hermann reached for zhe's Name only to pull back at the last second. 

"I'm okay," The quick response had Hermann furrowing zhe's brow. "I promise. Anyway, meeting is soon. Wait, do you have a Name brace?" 

"Brace?" 

"This," Newton turned to face zhe and the word suddenly made sense. The leather device wrapped protectively around the left forearm where the Name rested and stopped at the shoulder, intricate whorls and scrollwork creating a truly elegant design. 

Zhe hummed, retrieving the one zhe had been gifted millennia ago. The design spiralled up and sat on zhe's shoulder like the armor zhe had seen humans wear when zhe had been of great use. "Will this do?" 

"Yeah... Oh wow, that is really pretty." Newton's hands flexed as he restrained himself. Hermann understood, having to hold back affectionate gestures. "Can you put away your wings?" 

"Only you and children can see them," Hermann explained with a soft smile. "Not unless I want them to." 

"Oh. Uh, scratch that then."

* * *

Zhe's wings arched with pride as zhe entered the room on the arm of zhe's Name. 

"Does Geiszler finally have a date?" 

"I thought the little guy would be alone forever," 

"Guy he's with is cute though." 

"Hot damn. I didn't know plaid could look nice at a function." 

"Did Geiszler pay for an escort?" 

The longer zhe listened, the harder it was to control zher's roiling Grace. 

"Miene schatz, why are your co-workers speculating that you had to pay for my company?" Hermann asked silkily, keeping it together by sheer will. 

"Well, I don't really date and people tend to be threatened by my intellegence. Plus my ADHD and my monologues and... A lot of stuff, Hermann." Newt sighed as he absently pushed his glasses up with a finger. 

Zhe pulled on a pair of gloves and snagged Newt's hand, offering to hold it. Newton's blinding smile told Hermann that zhe had acted correctly. "Shall we show them that a partnership of angel and human is not one to be mocked?" 

"Hell yeah, battle babe." Newt agreed fervently. 

"Dr. Gieszler, introduce us?" The tone struck Hermann as odd it zhe's couldn't place a finger as to why. 

"This is my Name," Newt introduced eagerly, looking up after Hermann gave their joined hands a reassuring squeeze. "Hermann, this is Professor Moore." 

"Dr. Hermann Gottlieb," Zhe gave a short nod to the other human. A stray thought let zhe organize papers on zhe's personal thoughts. Hermann snuck them into the databases by slipping through another plane and depositing them there. "A pleasure to meet you." 

"What do you do, Dr. Gottlieb? I'm afraid I haven't read any papers." Pride and pomposity at its finest. 

Zhe sneered in a manner that would do an orca proud, no mercy in the teeth zhe bared. 

"They're in peer review. I'm an astrophysicist." Hermann smoothly deflected. "You work as a technical writer*, do you not? You create instructionals and manuals. Such a droll subject, I'm afraid to say, and some of them get rather large. I'm sure you're happily contributing to your _other_ field of choice, Professor. What was it again?" 

"If you'll excuse me, Doctors Gieszler and Gottlieb." The professor said shortly. When the man thought he was far away enough, he gave a full-body shudder. 

"Babe, that was **epic**. No one's taken him down a peg in years." Newt praised as Hermann watched him gesturing. 

"Good. Science is about leaping forward, not sitting comfortably." Zhe huffed. "Now, where is your Dean?" 

"Right, right. This way," Newton tugged Hermann forward and toward the colder part of the room.

* * *

They found the Dean chatting with an enormous bear of a man outside on the snow-dusted balcony. It was the souls that surprised Hermann; tendrils wrapped around the other soul and twined them together without force. Such phenomena were rare but not impossible. 

She turned to face them and Hermann found zherself on the end of a calculated stare. It cut across time itself and left zhe with the distinct feeling that the Dean could see zhe's wings. 

"Dr. Geiszler, a pleasure to see you here." She greeted serenely in Russian. "Introduce your companion?" 

"This is my Name! Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, meet Dean Sasha Kaidonovskaya. That's her husband, Aleksis. They're really cool about me and my scheduling." Newt gladly did so, watching them interact. "Sasha, I, uh, I finally need to use those contract weeks." 

Dean Kaidonovskaya's bright red lips curved up in a slow, sweet acknowledgement. "I thought you might. I have already brought the paperwork up on my desk. Come, come, your Doctor and Aleksis will be fine together for a moment." 

"Huh? Oh yeah," Newton followed her back into the function, the crowd parting around the Dean in both fear and awe. 

Hermann and Aleksis stood in silence.

Aleksis opened his mouth and paused, shutting it. 

"Ask, please." Zhe murmured into the nippy night, snow dusting zhe's hair and lashes. 

"Are you cold? I have room in here." The larger Russian man opened his coat and Hermann shuffled so that zher was cocooned in warmth and a large jacket. "You know... Little fox needed you. He didn't say anything about it but he was lonely. There are only so many times someone can be told, 'you're too smart, too loud' before it gets to them." 

The untouched words hurt zhe worse than if they'd been spoken. 

_We had to pick up the pieces._

"I was... limited." 

"What limit would not—?" 

"Things beyond my control." Hermann admitted truthfully. "I had run over our meeting so many times... The reality was, well, rather explosive." That was the _least_ of it, really. 

"You had imagined it softer?" Aleksis rumbled, the vibrations tickling zhe's wings. Hermann folded the wing sets away into a liminal space and shook them out. 

"Perhaps not quite as abrasive but I realize that is part of Newton himself. I honestly didn't know what to expect." Zhe sighed. "I cannot make up for my past mistakes but I shall endeavor to not repeat them, Mr. Kaidonovsky." 

"That's all Sasha and I ask," Aleksis murmured, "Now, what is your profession?" 

"I used to be a soldier." Zhe answered, leaning back against the thick barrel of a chest and warm heat. "I have a nasty scar and a doctorate in astrophysics." 

"The stars?" 

"Mmm." 

"He deserves the stars." 

"He does," Hermann started to elaborate when he's unceremoniously shoved out of the parka and into Newton's arms. "Hello, miene schatz." 

"Were you sharing a parka with Aleksis?" Zhe had the distinct impression that it was _jealousy_ that colored Newton's voice. 

"I think so. We had quiet the chat, he and I." 

"About what?" 

"You," Hermann absently replied, the Soldier in zhe being tugged on rather insistently.

 **Help us. Help my brothers. Help Hu—Jin—Cheung!**

"Hermann? Her—Are you listening to me?" 

"My apologies." Zhe's battle form surged forward and the cane sword became zhe's flaming sword. "Duty calls, schatz. I will be with you shortly." 

"Uh-huh." The awestruck tone made zhe preen a little. "Stay safe." 

"I will."

* * *

Hermann descended in a whirl of flashing flames, halo burning bright as zhe wordlessly roared. 

Three boys, two cradling a third, cringed away from—

"CHAU!" Hermann snarled, under-pins rattling dangerously. 

"Oh, look, an Angel." The poisonous drawl of the Fallen revealed Chau's location. 

"CHAU, RELEASE THAT SOUL. NOW!" 

"What if I don't? Gonna take it?" Chau's sibilant hiss had Hermann grinding zher's teeth. 

"I WILL SUMMON THE SERAPHIM." 

"Which one?" 

"STACKER." 

Chau dropped the soul with a shudder and vanished on the spot, faint trails of a sickly blue light the only sign that he'd been there at all. Hermann scooped up the fragile light, smoothed the spiked edges and peeled off the offending blue gunk of the Fallen. 

"Could you move, please?" Zhe asked patiently in Shanghaiese. "I must return your brother's light to him." 

The other two brothers pulled away warily. Hermann coaxed the soul out of zhe's hands and gently stroked it until it sank back into Cheung's body. Cheung sat up and coughed, sweating and sickly-looking. 

"What happened?" 

"He happened," the smallest triplet pointed out. "With his wings and his shouting." 

"I am a Soldier. I do not follow the human genders but yes, I removed your soul from the clutches of that Fallen." Hermann replied softly. "He is not good for mortals. Which of you invoked his name?" 

"We were just... Just playing. Some Westerner left that," Cheung pointed put a human board game that had a black bottom. "Feels like we got dumped into _Stranger Things_..." 

"No kidding." 

"Does that make them Eleven?" 

"Children," All three turned back to Hermann with sheepish expressions, "May I ask what you are doing the ruins of an apartment building?" 

"We don't have a family. 'Cept each other." Cheung muttered mulishly. 

"Always had to fend for ourselves. Cheung earns money but he gets beat up for it. I water plants." Hu's scuffed hands are testament to other work on top of it. 

"I go to school." Jin piped up at long last. "I bring home my books for my brothers to study with me." 

Hermann cast out zher's awareness, skipping over Triad and other harmful elements, skimming past and out over mountains. "How do you feel about Koreans?" 

"What's that got to do with anything?" Hu asked as he carefully massaged where Cheung's head met his neck and held Jin to him. 

"Because, two Korean women are trying to adopt some children but they haven't succeeded." Hermann explained, raising a brow meaningfully when it didn't quite click. 

"Oh. You mean... We could be it?" Hu asked. 

"If that is your wish. They want a family as much as you do. You would have to learn Korean but they speak decent Mandarin and you can teach them Shanghaiese. I'm sure you'll be able to compromise." Hermann reassured. "It is entirely up to you." 

"Can we talk about it?" 

Zhe gave them space, wings spread and arched as zhe stood in front of them. The stink of Fallen lingered but Hermann scoured it away with a wide sweep of zhe's Grace. 

"Umm, Soldier?" Jin asked as he tugged on zhe's cream robes, fiddling with the maroon sash that kept it together and signified that Hermann was a warrior. Zhe didn't comment but turned to face the other two. "I'd like to see them. Is... Can you do that?" 

"Of course," Hermann snapped a Grace globe up and concentrated on the pair. "Their names are An Yuna and Pang So-Yi. They are Olympic athletes for the Korean fencing team. They love each other, sharing food and are very excited to start a family, even if it means the social stigma of raising one alone." 

"An Yuna is shaved! Like us." Hu blurted in surprise. "That's a choice?" 

"Pang So-Yi is so graceful..." Cheung murmured as So-Yi's fencing foil cut through the air with a sharp -swish!-. "I want to be adopted by them." 

Jin watched the changing scenes with wide eyes. "Can I do that?" 

"Fencing?" 

"Fencing." 

"I am sure they will be delighted to take you to lessons." Hermann replied, zhe's Grace aching at the thought that literal children had to defend themselves from such a vile creature. "Have you made up your minds?" 

All three nodded slowly, one after the other. "Yes." 

"We want to be with them." 

"I will begin your paperwork." 

"How long?" 

"Two days. You'll need to present yourselves to the nearest orphanage but be vague about your age." Zhe responded as zhe snapped their birth certificates up from the records and handed them off to Jin. "Hold onto those." 

"Right. We would only have two more years if we were in one now." Cheung murmured quietly. 

"Stay safe and ask for my help again, should you need it." 

"Thank you." 

Zhe gathered them close and cradled all three in zhe's immense wings. "I hope you are happy in your new home." 

"Hey, Soldier, can we call you for help there too?" Hu asked with a defiant moue. 

"Of course. It _is_ my duty to check on you." Hermann reassured gently, zhe pressing a kiss to each forehead and sending them to sleep. Zhe manifested soft beds that would vanish when the Weis woke up and tucked them all in. Hermann gave them all a full bow out of respect and slipped onto a plane of existence that would allow zhe to get back home to Newt.

* * *

Newton took one look at zhe's exhausted and drooping wings and clucked his tongue. 

"Off to bed for you, great Soldier." 

"I will see you on the morrow, Newton." Zhe slipped into zher's home and passed out from the expenditure of Grace.

* * *

Hermann transported Newt and zherself to a safe cabin in Rockport, Maine. It was off the beaten path and the cabin was fully stocked. Snow blanketed the view outside of the living room window. 

Newt spun in a circle with a low whistle. 

"Is there where we do the do? Horizontal mambo? The frick-frack—"

"Newton," Hermann shook zher's head as zhe lit the fireplace with a match. "We have to touch first." 

"Oh, _right_." Newton flushed a delightful shade of pink. "Right. Haven't done that yet either." Zhe softened and tugged on Newt's skinny tie, leading them both to the bedroom. "Kinky." 

"If you say so, schatz," Hermann replied as zhe unfurled zher' wings from the liminal space zhe tucked them in. Shaking them out caused a single feather to fall, the indigo secondary tipped in black floating gracefully to the floor.

"Oh. That's a European Roller bird!" Newton was excited and reached for the feather. Zhe snatched it up before zhe's Name touched it. "Does that count?" 

"I suggest you touch it after we complete our Bond," Hermann responded as zhe set it on the nightstand. "Grace is... temperamental, at best." 

"Okay then." Hermann spread zher hands and waited patiently for Newt to catch on. "Oh!" 

The moment their palms touched, Hermann felt zher Grace sizzle, snap and explode with joy. 

Here was _**home**_ , at long last. 

**-December 24, 2016-**

Hermann yawned and stretched out all four wings, grunting as one wing swept something off of Newt's pillow. Zhe absently summoned it to zhe and squinted as zhe read the chicken scratch that made up Newton's handwriting. 

_-Hey battle babe!_

_I'm out getting breakfast. I'll be back before you miss me!_

_Love,_

_Newt-_

Zhe looked up to see Newt with snow-dusted hair and a smile that would blind even the brightest star. 

Hermann was glad Newt had called for zher's help.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, complain, ect. 
> 
> *It sounds boring but I bet it's actually kinda cool. If you're a technical writer, keep up the good work?
> 
> Language of flowers website: http://www.languageofflowers.com/flowermeaning.htm


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